The Legend of Spyro: Of Light and Shadow Book 3
by Archangel1225
Summary: As the vanguards come closer to stopping Malefor, the dark master's evil plot comes to light. Will the vanguards be able to put a stop to this before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, I'm getting this out of the way now. I may have started listening to A LOT of Avenged Sevenfold lately and gained a ton of song ideas…so if you don't like A7X…skip a few of the musical parts…and Leon will be singing most of them, but not all…that said, this will be the final book of this series.**

Chapter 1

Many years ago…

"That was wonderful, Leon." Sierra said as she and Leon sat in on the edge of the Lassarios lake. The two of them were in their adolescent years.

"Do you really think so?" Leon asked.

"Yes, you sing better than any boy I've heard."

"Maybe I should give up on being the king then." Leon said, jokingly.

"No reason you can't do both." Sierra said.

"Yeah…maybe someday...I'll be on a stage…with thousands of people watching me."

Sierra giggled, "And I'll be right there cheering for you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Leon said.

The two of them continued staring out over the lake, "What do you think the future holds for us." Sierra asked.

"I don't know…but I'm sure that it'll be filled with happiness." Leon said.

Present day…

It had been a full week since the vanguards had helped defend Warfang from Malefore's forces. As the sun began to set over the dragon capital, Flare and Crystal walked down the street towards the healer's den. "So…tomorrow then?" Flare asked.

"Yep." Crystal said, "Spyro says that we don't want to give the dark master another chance to attack again."

"Right." Flare stated, "I still wonder why the dark master wants Spyro, though."

"Hopefully…we'll never find out."

"Yeah, I guess that'd be for the be-" Flare's sentence was cut short as he began coughing violently.

"Geez, you okay?" Crystal asked, worriedly.

"I'm fine." Flare stated.

"You've been coughing like that for a few days now."

"It's just the cold getting to me."

"Well…okay." Crystal said, half believing him.

Elektra emerged from the pavilion just in time to see the two young dragons approach her, "Oh…what are you two doing here?" She asked, "Shouldn't you be at the opera house already?"

"Icarus asked us to be your personal escorts." Flare said, cheerfully.

"Dear ancestors," Elektra said, shaking her head, "that dragon needs to stop worrying about me."

"He means well." Crystal stated.

"I know he does…but it can be so annoying sometimes."

"Well…we should get going." Flare said.

"Right…we wouldn't want to be late." Elektra stated before following the two dragons towards the eastern side of the city.

"The entire city showed up." Magma said as he peaked through the space between the two curtains.

"Right…and almost all of them hate me." Leon said.

"Actually…I think that you gained a few friends after the battle with Malefore's forces." Icarus said.

"I wouldn't call them friends." Leon began, "They may see me as less of a threat, though…which is still a good thing."

"Regardless of how they feel about you...they can't deny the talent of this choir, and, by extension, the talent of you." Magma stated.

"I hope you're right…otherwise this night may take a turn for the worst."

"Word of advice," Icarus began, "focus on your mate…that's what I'll be doing."

"Oh, you and Elektra finally completed the act?" Leon asked.

"Well, no…not yet."

"Why not…it's painfully obvious that she's into you."

"Yes…but, in case you haven't noticed…we don't really get too much private time with you and the other vanguards around."

"Oh…right…then I guess you'll be happy to see us leave tomorrow."

"In a way, yes."

Leon chuckled slightly, "Just make sure that you stay on_ her _cushion…or at least wash the linens before I get back."

"Will do." Icarus said, saluting.

"Did we miss anything?" Crystal asked as she, Flare, and Elektra approached the vanguards, who sat in the front row of the massive auditorium.

"No…I think they're just about to start." Cynder stated.

"Oh good." Crystal said as she sat beside Zephyr. She then noticed Athena, who sat quietly and was lost in her thoughts. "Hey, Athena. Are you okay?"

"Hmm…oh yes, I'm fine." Athena lied. She hadn't stopped thinking about the one that had taken over Leon's body and defended her from Sin. Leon remembered the voice in his head, but then, his memory went blank. Athena had not told him or the other vanguards about what had happened after that. Leon hadn't bothered questioning her about it. He refused to let whatever was happening inside his head to interfere with the mission ahead, and he figured that maybe if he ignored Sin, then Sin would get bored trying to turn him back to his old ways.

"Hey, I think it's starting." Spyro said. The vanguards turned their attention to the stage as the curtain split open. The audience clapped, or, in the dragons' case, slapped their wings against their hide, as Magma and the choir took a simultaneous bow.

"Thank you all for coming." Magma said, raising his voice so all could hear, "We appreciate you granting us the opportunity to enchant your ears…now, allow your mind to become lost in our melodies." Magma then turned to the choir. The band began to play, and Leon took Icarus' advice and kept his gaze focused on Athena, who smiled lovingly at him, before he began to sing;

_So close, no matter how far._

_Couldn't be much more from the heart._

_Forever trusting who we are._

_{And nothing else matters.}_

_Never opened myself this way._

_Life is ours, we live it our way._

_All these words I don't just say._

_{And nothing else matters.}_

_Trust I seek, and I find in you._

_Everyday for us something new._

_Open mind for a different view._

_{And nothing else matters.}_

_{Never cared for what they do.}_

_{Never cared for what they know.}_

_{And I know.}_

_So close, no matter how far._

_Couldn't be much more from the heart._

_Forever trusting who we are._

_{And nothing else matters.}_

_{Never cared for what they do.}_

_{Never cared for what they know.}_

_{But I know.}_

_Never opened myself this way._

_Life is ours, we live it our way._

_All these words I don't just say._

_{And nothing else matters.}_

_Trust I seek, and I find in you._

_Everyday for us something new._

_Open mind for a different view._

_{And nothing else matters.}_

_{Never cared for what they say.}_

_{Never cared for games they play.}_

_{Never cared for what they do.}_

_{Never cared for what they know.}_

_{And I know.}_

_So close, no matter how far._

_Couldn't be much more from the heart._

_Forever trusting who we are._

_{And nothing else matters.}_

The crowd clapped loudly as the notes faded away and Magma gave Leon an approving nod.

The concert lasted another six hours until the choir played their last song and took their closing bow. As the vanguards exited the opera house with Elektra, they circled around to the back entrance of the building. They spotted the choir conversing amongst themselves and began searching for Leon. They found him in the middle of a conversation with Magma and Icarus, "I think that this show couldn't have gone better." Icarus stated.

"I agree." Leon said.

"It was definitely one of our better performances." Magma stated. Leon jumped slightly when he felt Athena's hand on his shoulder.

"Someone's a little jumpy." Athena said.

"Sorry," He said, "but you can't be too careful."

Athena giggled before putting her arms around him, "Don't worry, I wont let anyone hurt you." She said before giving him a peck on the lips.

"Species be damned," Magma said, "you two were made for each other, don't let anyone tell you differently."

"Thanks," Leon said before looking at the other vanguards, "how did you guys like it?"

"It was great." Cynder said.

"Yeah, I can't wait for the next show." Flare said.

"You sang wonderfully, Icarus." Elektra said.

"Well, it's easy when I have inspiration like you." Icarus stated.

"Aw…you're such a liar," Elektra said smiling, "but maybe that's what I like about you." She then kissed Icarus on the lips.

"We should get some sleep," Spyro said, "we head out tomorrow."

"We're going to the tall plains, correct?" Leon asked.

"Yeah…have you ever been there?"

"Once or twice…but back then they were still glued to the ground."

"What happened to them?" Fang asked.

"Well," Leon began. He noticed that the dragon choir also seemed interested in this information as they turned their heads toward him, "at some point in history, the magnetic minerals built up in the region reversed the gravity of the area and lifted the plains up into the air…it left behind a land of darkness that you know as the shadow lands…the history of that place shows us that darkness…" he then tapped his foot on the ground, "…can be right below our feet."

"A little morbid, don't you think?" Sparx asked.

"Maybe…but it's the truth." Leon said, "I haven't been back there in a while, I had the orcs place the machine up there."

"Why didn't you go?" Cynder asked.

"I…couldn't."

"Then I guess you wouldn't know an easy way up the shadow mountains, huh?" Spyro said, slightly disappointed.

"That's…not necessarily true." Leon said, hesitantly.

"You do know a way?" Spyro said, happily.

"I do…but it's not a pleasant path."

"Is it dangerous?" Cynder asked.

"No…but it's not a path I want to traverse." Leon replied.

"Why not?" Flare asked.

"Because…it…it's just…"

"Because why?" Fang asked.

"I just don't want to, okay!" Leon snapped, causing the other vanguards to jump.

"Whoa man, calm down." Twitch said.

Leon took a deep breath to calm his nerves before pinching the bridge of his nose, "I'm sorry." He said.

"What could you possibly be so upset about?" Elektra asked.

"It…it…it's not something I can explain." Leon stated.

The other vanguards raised a skeptical brow before Spyro spoke, "I'm not saying you don't have your reasons…but we need to get to that machine in the quickest way possible."

"I know." Leon said before sighing again, "I'll take you there."

"Alright." Spyro said, "Now let's get some sleep."

"You go ahead, I'll be there in a minute." Elektra said to Athena and Leon.

The vanguards bowed to Icarus and Magma before departing. As they headed towards the temple, Cynder and Athena noticed that Leon was keeping his head down as he did when he was bothered by something. They entered the temple, ascended the stairs, and entered their respective bedchambers. Leon immediately took off his leather tunic and threw it to the side before lying on his cushion and facing away from the entrance. Athena looked at him sadly before stripping down and crawling onto the cushion next to him, "What's wrong?" She asked as she wrapped her arm around him.

"I'd rather not talk about it." Leon said.

Athena slowly forced Leon to roll over to face her, "I can see that whatever this is…it's hurting you…and that means it's hurting me too…so, please…tell me."

Leon sighed deeply and closed his eyes. Athena placed her paw on his face and Leon's savored the touch of her four long, slender fingers on his skin. Athena noticed a few lone tears run down Leon's face as he opened his eyes, "I can't." He said.

The cheetah sighed sadly as she held Leon's head close to her chest, "Okay…but know this…I'll always be here for you…and so will Cynder." She felt Leon nod against her and the two of them fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The vanguards met in the courtyard and prepared to leave. The council approached them and the vanguards bowed. "We hope for your safe return." Boltor said.

"May the ancestors watch over you." Gaia said.

"Thank you." Spyro said, "We'll be back."

"We'll keep our defenses up." Nitro stated, "No use coming back to a city that's not there anymore."

The vanguards laughed half-heartedly at the ice dragon's attempt at humor, "Well…we're ready." Spyro said.

"Good luck, young dragons." Terrador said. The vanguards bowed again before Spyro and Cynder swept Leon up into the air, and Twitch and Zephyr did the same to Athena. As the vanguards headed southeast, Leon noticed the smile on Athena's face as the dragons carried her through the air, and it made him realize that, because of his previous feelings about the dragons, he had seen the flights with the dragons as more of a torture than an enjoyment. The vanguards flew for several hours until they found a place to set up camp.

When they landed Athena couldn't help but let out a childish giggle, "That was fun."

"I take it you don't fly often?" Flare asked, jokingly.

"Most cheetah's prefer keeping their paws on the ground, but I think it's exciting."

"I'm glad you feel that way." Spyro said, "We'll be in the air most of the time."

"We're more exposed traveling that way," Zephyr began, "but time isn't exactly on our side."

"I'm not complaining, it's better that walking." Athena said.

"Yeah…for you and Leon maybe," Twitch said as he stretched his wings, "but carrying someone around is a pain in the wings."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say he's calling us fat." Leon said, jokingly.

"I would never say something like that…to Athena." Twitch said with a smug grin.

"Like you have a right to call anyone fat anyway." Zephyr interjected.

"Just more of me to love." Twitch stated, causing Zephyr to roll her eyes.

"Alright, let's try and find some food," Spyro said, "Leon, since you and Athena move the quickest on foot, see if you can find any meat."

"As you wish." Leon said before he and Athena headed into the woods.

"Flare…you, Crystal, and Charlotte go find some firewood."

"Got it." Flare said before his group headed into the darkening trees.

"Zephyr…take Twitch and Fang to find some berries."

"Right." Zephyr said before heading off with her group.

"Alright, Sparx-"

"I know, I know, stay here and mark the spot." Sparx interrupted.

"Right." Spyro said.

"What about us, Spyro?" Cynder asked.

"This way." Spyro said, indicating with his head towards the east. Spyro led Cynder away from the campground until he was sure that Sparx would not hear them.

"Spyro, where are we going?" Cynder asked.

"I want to scout ahead," Spyro said, "I'm not sure what it is, but I feel…something."

"Shouldn't we tell the other's then?" Cynder asked.

"No…if I'm wrong, then they'll be worried for nothing." Spyro said.

"True…but you're hunches are normally right." Cynder said, worriedly.

"We're just going to take a look."

Cynder sighed, "If you're sure." The two of the then crouched down and headed through the brush.

"How are we doing?" Crystal asked as she searched the icy ground for firewood.

Flare looked down at the twigs in the makeshift saddlebag strapped to his side, "We almost have enough. A few more sticks should do it."

"I hope Fang's alright." Charlotte said, worriedly.

"What are you worried about?" Flare asked, "He's strong enough to take care of himself, plus he has Twitch and Zephyr with him."

"I know, I meant I hope he's doing alright after what had happened in the past couple of months."

"Oh…" Flare said when he realized what she was talking about.

"He puts on a happy face…but there's no way he's over Sting."

"How can he be…he was his twin." Crystal said, sadly.

"And above all that…his family is being split apart because his father wants Leon dead."

"But what can we do?" Flare asked, "Anima is part of the council."

"Yeah, I know…it's just so…frustrating…Leon had better appreciate everything that Fang has done for him." Charlotte said, turning slightly hostile.

"I'm sure he appreciates the things that we _all_ have done for him." Crystal said, "He doesn't seem like the type of person to just forget about the help we've given him."

"He doesn't seem like the type of person to forget_ anything _for that matter." Flare added.

"I know…I'm just frustrated by the situation." Charlotte said.

"Well…don't blame it on him…he hasn't exactly had it easy either." Flare said before emitting a violent cough.

"That cold sounds like it's getting worse." Crystal observed as she put another stick into the satchel, "We should probably let Elektra examine you when we get back to Warfang."

"No!" Flare snapped, causing Crystal to jump, "I mean…I'm fine."

"What's your problem…you've been acting weird lately." Charlotte said.

"I know…I just don't really want someone…invading my privacy." Flare said.

"You've been to see healers before and you were fine…what changed?"

"Look, it's just a cold, alright!" Flare yelled, becoming agitated.

"Okay, Jeez." Charlotte said.

"Good, now let's get back to camp." Flare said, turning around and heading back the way they had came. Charlotte and Crystal exchanged worried looks before following the young fire dragon.

Athena was crouched on all fours with the gold dagger that Leon had let her use for the hunt clenched tightly in her maw. Leon seemed hesitant to let her use it and he made her promise at least three times that she would not lose it. She made a mental note to pry him for the reason he was partial to it after they had found some food. Athena was always the curious type and when she was younger her parents had always said it would get her into trouble.

A small shadow caught her eye and she carefully moved forward, barely making a sound, as she avoided the small patches of ice that threatened to give away her position. Through the brush and growing darkness she could spot several deer grazing in a small clearing that the snow had not yet obscured. As she slowly inched her way closer, she saw a lone figure crouched in a tree, overlooking the clearing. Leon studied the prey on the ground before him and then looked at the prowling cheetah. He gave her a nod, signaling her to make the first move, before removing a few throwing knives from his belt. Athena eyed the closest prey before slowly removing Leon's dagger from her mouth and gripping it tightly in her hand. She let out a snarl as she leapt forward and tackled the deer to the ground and plunged the blade deep into its side. The deer thrashed wildly on the ground before lying still. The rest of the deer scattered and leapt towards the trees. Athena, being much faster than the deer, jumped from the body of one buck, onto the back of another. She stabbed the deer in the neck, bringing it down without incident. Leon lined up his throws, and managed to take another two deer out with his throwing knives. He then dismounted from the tree as the rest of the deer fled into the darkness. "I'd say that this should suffice." Leon observed.

"I told you that your dagger was safe with me." Athena stated as she sat next to one of the slain deer and began cleaning her paws of the blood of her kills.

"Yeah…I know…sorry for not trusting you more." Leon stated as he took a seat beside her.

"What's so special about this blade anyway?" Athena asked as she handed over Leon's dagger, "I could have easily gotten you a replacement for it."

The human looked at the dagger that gleamed in the moonlight, "It was my father's."

"Oh…" Athena said. It was no wonder that Leon had held the blade so dearly. Such sentimental value was worth more than any monetary amount that could have been gathered, "I didn't know."

"This blade has been with me everywhere...and for the longest time…I had believed it to be the only friendship I had…" Leon then paused for a moment, "but then Cynder was brought to me…then I met the vanguards…and then finally you." Leon brought his eyes to meet hers, "It's funny how the winding path of existence can bring you to a destination in which you had never intended to travel."

Athena giggled, "Umm…what?"

"How about 'life is full of surprises'?"

"Oh…yeah it is." Athena stated.

Leon smiled before staring up into the night sky, "Why don't you have a bow…I thought that all cheetahs hunted with bows."

"They do…but…" Athena paused for a moment.

"But?"

"My parents never had the chance to teach me." She finished sadly.

"I see…" Leon said, "I'm sorry."

"What's past is past…and the ape that had murdered them got what was coming to him." Athena said. Leon noticed a slight malice to her voice, "The dragons chased him and his troops down and killed them all."

"...but that's not enough for you, is it?" Leon asked.

Athena turned her head towards the ground, "I wanted to watch him burn."

Leon knew the feeling all too well; the feeling of wanting to see justice brought to the ones who had wronged him, but he also knew that that feeling can lead one to perform horrible deeds, "He'll get what he deserves…we all will."

Athena looked at him and realized what he meant, "You deserve to be with the one you love."

Leon shivered slightly when he heard a cold familiar voice in his head, "But who would that be, Leon?" Sin asked, "Sierra…or this harlot?"

Leon ignored the voice and turned to meet Athena's eyes, "They will cast me into the well of souls for what I've done…nothing I can do will change that."

"Then they will have to take me too." Athena said.

She barely had time to blink before Leon had clamped his hand over her maw, "Don't ever say that!" The human snapped. Athena was so shocked by his actions that she could not do anything but to stare at him with wide eyes. Leon sighed and released her grip on her mouth, "Your parents are waiting for you...would you really throw them away for me?"

The cheetah was silent, and for a few moments, the only the sound of crickets could be heard. It was then that Athena rested her hand on top of his, "If I must."

Leon was slightly surprised by the answer, "You don't mean that."

"Yes I do…I'd give up everything for you." Athena said, "I can't imagine a worse hell than knowing I would never feel your touch again."

"My touch…" Leon repeated her words in his head, "These hands have done cruel things…everything I touch is poisoned."

"Then I guess I must be _very_ sick." Athena said.

Leon half smiled at her attempt at making a joke, "We should get back before the meat spoils."

Athena nodded before rising to her feet, "Hey…" She said, grabbing Leon's attention, "I love you."

Leon smiled, "And I love you." He said as he rose to his feet as well.

"How sickening." Sin said in Leon's mind.

Spyro continued to move forward through the underbrush with Cynder in tow. The two dragons had been quietly moving through the bushes for quite some time, and Spyro was starting to second-guess his instincts, until he caught the scent of a faint odor, "Hey, do you smell that?" He asked his life-mate.

Cynder flicked out her long tongue and tasted the air, "Smoke." She concluded. The two of them continued towards the source of the smoke, and it wasn't long before they could see several flickering lights through the leaves.

The two dragons came to a halt at the edge of the bushes, "It's coming from here." Spyro said. He pushed a few of the remaining brambles out of their way so they could see. Cynder gasped when they saw the large bonfires and massive number of orcs and apes. The sound of stone against steel and bone could be heard as the dark master's forces sharpened their weapons. Spyro's attention was drawn to an orc, whose horns were bigger than the other orcs, having a conversation with a black-furred ape.

"I'm starting to think you don't trust me, Gwar." The black ape said.

"That's because I don't." Gwar said, "We can hunt down these dragons without the apes' help."

"It looks like you're doing a great job by the looks of it."

"Silence your tongue before I remove it, Gorrak."

"You think you can scare me with idle threats?" Gorrak asked. Gwar just growled in response, "Hmph, at least I can put our differences aside for the good of our master."

"You think you're more loyal than me?" Gwar asked in a threatening tone.

"This isn't some competition about who can earn master's favor." Gorrak stated, "Now stop acting like a newborn and help put out the fires." The ape then headed towards the other end of the encampment.

"Who the hell does he think he is, giving me orders." Gwar mumbled under his breath. No one noticed As Spyro and Cynder slowly made their way back to their camp.

"What do we do?" Cynder asked when they were out of earshot of the battalion.

"We have to warn the others, and get as far away from here as possible." Spyro replied. Cynder nodded and the two of them rushed through the woods.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Any luck?" Charlotte asked as Fang, Twitch, and Zephyr emerged from the bushes, into the now well-lit campsite.

"See for yourself." Fang said, turning to the side so Charlotte could see the multi-colored berries in his makeshift satchel.

"Hey, where're Spyro and Cynder?" Twitch asked.

"We don't know." Athena said.

"I'll bet _I_ know what they're doing." Sparx stated haughtily

"Hold your tongue." Leon said, "They wouldn't be so desperate to do something like _that_ when Malefore's troops could be right under out noses…they're more intelligent than that."

"You never know man."

"In any case, I'm beginning to worry."

"I'm sure they're fine." Twitch said, "They know how to deal with a few apes and orcs."

"Not to mention, Cynder had a great mentor." Athena said.

"Hmm…I suppose." Leon said.

It was then that the vanguards heard a rustle in the bushes. They immediately prepared themselves for an attack. A few seconds later, two young dragons burst from the leaves and skidded to a halt in front of them.

"Oh, thank the ancestors." Crystal sighed when she saw Spyro and Cynder, struggling to catch their breath.

"That's a fantastic way to get yourself killed." Leon stated.

"What happened?" Flare asked.

"There's…an encampment... near here." Cynder breathed.

"We…need to go." Spyro said.

"Aw, but we just went through the trouble of getting food." Twitch said.

"I'll bet we can take 'em." Fang stated.

"There's way too many," Cynder said, "it's an entire hunting battalion."

"And it's looks like your orc friend is leading it." Spyro said to Leon.

"You mean Gwar?" Leon asked.

"The same."

"Who?" Athena asked.

"Malefore put him under my command when I worked with him…I also owe him one for stabbing me when I wasn't looking."

"You're not paying him back tonight." Spyro stated, "Kill the fire and let's go."

"Ah, damn it." Flare cursed as he used his tail to sweep dirt over the fire.

"Okay, let's go." Cynder said. The vanguards nodded before taking to the skies, Athena with Fang and Charlotte, and Leon with Spyro and Cynder. None of them saw the black furred ape that sat in a tree and lined up a shot with his crossbow. Flare heard a twang followed by a shrill scream. He looked behind him to see his mate falling out of the sky.

"Crystal!" The fire breather yelled as he made a U-turn and dived toward the ice dragoness.

Twitch also saw the scene and he turned to Zephyr, "Whatever you do, don't stop."

"Be careful." Zephyr said. Twitch nodded before turning around and heading back to help Flare.

The wind deafened the fire breather as he closed in on his mate. He reached out with his paws grasped Crystal's foreleg. He then opened his wings to slow their decent. Twitch dove towards the two of them and managed to grasp Crystal's other foreleg, and, together, the two male dragons climbed back into the air with the ice dragoness.

Twitch helped situate Crystal on her mates back. The ice dragoness had fallen unconscious and the arrow protruded from her side. Blood ran from her wound, down Flare's flank and dripped to the ground below. "We've gotta get her to Zephyr." Twitch said.

"Right." Flare nodded before the two of them rushed to catch up with the other vanguards.

Gorrak watched them from the ground below, along with Gwar and the rest of their battalion. "You didn't kill it." Gwar said, "Guess you're not as good of a general as Master thought."

"Did it ever occur to you that I didn't want to kill it?" Gorrak asked as he grabbed one of the torches from an ape. He then held the torch close to the ground where he began searching for something that Gwar was unsure of. He was about to question the ape before three more orcs emerged from the bushes to their right.

"We found their campsite." One orc stated.

"Did you find anything useful?" Gwar asked.

"Just this." Another orc said, before handing the orc captain a dagger with a gold hilt

Gwar recognized the blade he held in his hand, "Leon won't be too happy about losing this." He then put the dagger under his belt, "I'll just hold onto it for him."

"Over here." Gorrak said. Gwar and the other troops looked over the black ape's shoulder to see a drop of crimson blood against a patch over a patch of white snow. More red drops led away from them and deep into the woods, "They're heading southeast."

"The tall plains." Gwar stated.

"You four…" Gorrak pointed to two apes and two orcs, "go back to the burning plains and tell master of the situation." The messengers nodded before disappearing into the darkness of the woods.

"And what about us?" Gwar asked.

"We follow the trail." Gorrak stated, "I thought that would be obvious…but, then again, I _am_ talking to an orc." Gwar and the other orcs grumbled distastefully at the ape's remark before following him through the forest.

Flare and Twitch saw the rest of the vanguards and landed near them. "Zephyr!" Flare called.

The vanguards trotted towards them, "Oh ancestors." Zephyr said when she saw the arrow in the ice dragoness' side. Fang and Twitch helped lower her gently to the ground.

"She'll be okay, right?" Flare asked, worriedly.

"Not with that arrow still in her." Zephyr stated.

"I'll pull it out." Twitch stated.

"It may be a good idea to let someone with experience do that." Leon suggested, "Lest we do more harm, than good."

"Yeah…good idea." Twitch said. Leon knelt beside Crystal and examined the wound. He reached out and grasped the shaft of the arrow. All of a sudden, Crystal's eyes shot open and she began thrashing around and screaming in pain. Leon jumped back in shock before yelling, "Hold her down before she hurts herself!" The dragons obeyed and leapt onto the ice dragoness, being carful to avoid agitating the arrow. Leon once again grabbed the arrow and began firmly tugging on it. Crystal screamed again and struggled against the vanguards.

Leon could not coax the arrow out. "Stop, you're killing her!" Flare yelled.

"It's too deep, we have to cut it out." Leon said before reaching for his dagger. His eyes jumped when he realized that it was missing.

"Something wrong?" Twitch asked.

"Shit, my dagger must've fallen out of its sheath when we left." Leon then thought of another plan, "Cynder, let me borrow your tail."

Cynder nodded before getting beside her father and turning around so he could manipulate her tail. Leon grabbed her tail and looked at the tailblade before reexamining the arrow. Spyro looked up at how the male vanguards stared at Cynder's hindquarters as Leon manipulated her tail. He whispered to them, "Hey guys…I suggest you keep your eyes down…cause while I might be forgiving when it comes to my life-mate…Leon might not be when it comes to his daughter."

The male dragons blushed deeply when they realized they had been caught and they immediately looked back down and made sure that Crystal would not move. Athena let out a short giggle that caught Leon's attention, "What's so funny?" He asked.

"Nothing." Athena lied.

Leon raised a brow at her before returning to his work, "This will hurt." He then quickly made a small incision around the arrow. Crystal screamed again, but this time she also released blast of cold air. The sudden rush of cold air on her hindquarters made Cynder jump, snatching her tail up and slicing Leon's hand open. "Ow, son-of-a-bitch." Leon cursed. At this point, he was becoming slightly impatient, so he grasped the arrow and yanked hard. Crystal screamed again as the arrow was finally freed from her flesh. She gasped hard before falling unconscious once again.

"Crystal?" Flare craned his head down and looked at his mate worriedly.

"She passed out." Zephyr stated.

"Will she...be okay?"

Zephyr put her paw over the wound and healed it, "She'll be fine…but we need to find a secure place to rest."

"We will." Spyro stated.

Leon looked at the arrow in his hand, "Hmm."

"What is it?" Charlotte asked.

"This arrow is…odd looking." He held it up to the faint moonlight. It had a black shaft with a wicked looking, serrated, head, which still had pieces of Crystal's flesh attached.

"It…looks familiar." Athena stated.

"You know who did this?" Flare asked somewhat forcibly.

"I…don't know."

"Are you sure?"

"She said she doesn't know." Leon stated.

Flare looked at him for a second before turning back to Athena, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay…she's your mate, it's only natural to be angry." Athena said, sympathetically.

"I just…want her to be safe."

"It's understandable." Leon stated, "Especially in these times."

The fire breather nodded in agreement, "Thank you for taking care of her."

"No problem." Leon stated.

"Your hand says otherwise."

Leon looked down at the long bleeding gash across his palm, "With family like mine…who needs enemies?" Leon joked.

"Sorry, dad." Cynder apologized, "She just surprised me."

"I've had worse." Leon said passively. Zephyr placed her paw on the cut and healed over it, "Thanks…now then, you guys should find a place to rest."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Spyro asked.

"I need to go back and find my dagger." Leon stated, standing to his feet.

"Are you serious?" Twitch asked, half hysterically.

"You can't fight an entire battalion." Cynder said.

"I need that blade." Leon said.

"It's out of the question." Spyro said, defiantly, "We're pushing on."

"I'm not leaving my father's dagger behind." Leon said, raising his voice slightly.

"Leon," Athena began, gaining the human's attention, "you don't need that dagger."

"Yes…I do." Leon said.

"It's just a piece of metal."

"It's the one of the only things I have left of my family," Leon argued, "it's important to me."

"More important than me or Cynder?" Athena asked, becoming slightly hostile.

"Oh, don't pull that on me." Leon said.

"I guess I have my answer then." Athena stated.

"Goddamn it, Athena, just because you don't care about _your_ parents doesn't mean that…" Leon didn't realize what he was saying until it was too late. He didn't have time to blink before Athena had slapped him across the face, leaving four small cuts across his face with her claws. She then silently walked away from him and headed into the forest.

"That…wasn't good." Twitch stated.

"I know." Leon said, sadly, "I screwed up…again."

"I'll go follow her," Charlotte said, "you guys catch up when you can."

"Thank you, Charlotte." Leon said. The fire dragoness nodded before chasing after Athena.

"Look, we can't risk losing you…you're the only one who knows how to shut off those machines," Spyro stated, "and I think your father would be more worried about saving everyone than about that dagger."

Leon sighed; he could not deny the truth in the purple dragon's words, "I know."

Leon then reached up and traced one of the cuts Athena had left on his face. "Lean down so I can heal that." Zephyr said.

"No thanks," Leon said, plainly, "I deserved this one."

"Let's catch up with Charlotte and Athena." Cynder stated. The vanguards nodded before heading into the woods.

About thirty minutes after the vanguards had disappeared, the forest came to life with dark figures and torches. Gorrak came to a stop at a splatter of dried blood, "The trail stops here." He announced.

"Alright, let's set up camp here." Gwar stated.

"Why?" Gorrak asked.

"What do you mean 'why'?" Gwar asked, "The trail's gone cold."

"We still know where they're going, if we hurry we can beat them there."

"Look at our troops, they're exhausted." Gwar stated. The rest of the orcs grumbled in agreement.

"_Your_ troops maybe, but my apes look like their about to get their second wind…Right?" Gorrak asked the apes. The apes hooted in excitement.

"Then, here's an idea…how about you take _your _apes and get to the tall plains, and we'll catch up when we can?"

"Hmm…" Gorrak thought for a moment. While this strategy would weaken their brute force, the apes could easily gain ground on the dragons without the orcs slowing them down, "That may be the smartest thing you've said, orc."

"Well, go then…you don't want to keep the dragons waiting."

"Fine…we'll meet you at the tall plains." Gorrak said before he and the apes left the orcs behind and headed into the darkness of the woods.

"Damn dirty apes." Gwar grumbled under his breath.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The vanguards had flown throughout the night and following day to make sure that they left their pursuers far behind. Leon had suggested changing their course slightly to throw off the battalion that was hunting them. He and Athena didn't talk to one another and Cynder was worried that their relationship was going to fail, but Spyro reassured her by stating "All couples will fight, it's only natural…They'll make up, you'll see."

Leon had led them along the edge of a cliff that over looked a river, frozen by the weather that had finally dropped to the usual winter temperature. As night began to fall once again, the vanguards finally had a stroke of luck, when Zephyr spotted a small cave to protect them from the cold. After quickly finding some wood they had made a small fire in time for nightfall. "Oh man." Flare said as his stomach growled, "I'm so hungry."

"Don't talk about it." Charlotte said, "It only makes it worse."

Flare nodded before looking over at his mate, who still lay unconscious on the cave floor, "Hey, Zephyr?" Flare began.

"Hmm?" Zephyr looked at him from beside Twitch.

"Why hasn't Crystal woken up yet?"

"She's been through a lot of stress…She'll wake up when she's ready."

Flare nodded before lying next to the ice dragoness. Spyro stood to his feet, "I'll take the first watch."

"No man I got this." Sparx said.

"With all do respect," Leon began, "I think we need someone with a little more…body mass to take that job."

"I'll do it." Twitch said.

"No, you need your rest." Leon said, "You dragons have been doing the traveling all day…I'll-"

"I'll go." Athena abruptly cut Leon off. She then quickly headed towards the mouth of the cave before anyone could object.

"Man…she is _pissed _at you." Twitch stated.

"She has every right to be." Leon said, "God, I am such an ass."

"At least you have the gall to admit it." Flare said before coughing again.

"Hey, maybe you should rest up." Charlotte said, "The more sleep you get the quicker you'll get rid of that cold."

"Yeah…okay." Flare said before laying his head in his paws.

"And as for you," Charlotte said, turning to Leon, "you made a mistake."

"Just like I did with Sierra." Leon said, sadly.

"No, not like with Sierra." Charlotte stated.

"Because this time…you have a chance to apologize." Cynder said.

Leon sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose, "You're right…I know what I have to do." Leon stated, standing to his feet.

"Good, now go get her." Cynder said.

"Right…thanks."

"I only want to see you happy."

"Yeah…happy…" Leon repeated the word in his head, "get some sleep, you look tired."

"Yeah…okay." Cynder said before laying her head in her paws. Spyro draped his wing over her and then looked at Leon.

"Good luck." He said.

"Hopefully, I won't need it." Leon said before heading toward the mouth of the cave.

"You think he'll do alright, Spyro?" Twitch asked.

"Well, of all the things he's good at..." Spyro began, "I think relationships is one of his weaknesses…but he has heart, so I think he'll do okay."

As Leon walked outside, he immediately put his hood up to protect him from the cold. He saw Athena sitting in the snow and staring over the cliff at the frozen river. It wasn't until Leon had moved closer that he heard her voice, singing a song that seemed to mesmerize the human.

Athena was interrupted by a cold winter wind that swept across the forest edge and ripped through her coat of fur like a knife, causing her to shiver. Leon wasn't doing any better, his spine sent jolts through his body in an attempt to raise his body temperature. Leon ignored it and pushed forward. When he was close enough, he dared to speak, "You sing beautifully." Athena jumped slightly and turned around. When she saw it was only Leon, she gave him an icy glare before turning back to the river. "The silent treatment, eh?" Leon stated as he moved closer, "I can't say this is the first time I've had to deal with it…but I also can't say it's the first time I deserved it." He took a seat behind her and wrapped his arms around the cheetah. Athena didn't argue, but she still refused to talk. "We're close now…to the beginning." Athena raised her brow, but didn't speak, "I know you don't understand what I'm talking about…but know this…I can't make it through on my own…I need you." Leon then thought of something else. He reached back into his satchel and pulled out a few of the crystalline berries. He dropped them next to her, and Athena them a questioning look, her eyes jumped when they began emitting a melody. "It would've been really easy to say that it was Sin who made me say what I said…but I'm ashamed to say that it wasn't…so I'll say this instead." Leon breathed in the cold air before he began to sing;

_Looking back at me I see that I never really got it right._

_I never stopped to think of you._

_I'm always wrapped up in things I cannot win._

_You are the antidote that gets me by._

_Something strong, like a drug that gets me high._

_What I really meant to say_

_Is I'm sorry for the way_

_I am._

_I never meant to be so cold._

_Never meant to be so cold._

_What I really meant to say_

_Is I'm sorry for the way_

_I am._

_I never meant to be so cold._

_Never meant to be so…_

_Cold to you and I'm sorry about all the lies._

_Maybe in a different light,_

_You could see me stand on my own again._

'_Cause now I can see,_

_You were the antidote that got me by._

_Something strong, like a drug that got me high._

_What I really meant to say_

_Is I'm sorry for the way_

_I am._

_I never meant to be so cold._

_Never meant to be so cold._

_What I really meant to say_

_Is I'm sorry for the way_

_I am._

_I never meant to be so cold._

_Never meant to be so cold._

_I never meant to be…_

_So cold._

_I never really_

_Wanted you to see_

_The screwed up side of me that I keep_

_Locked inside of me so deep._

_It always seems to get to me._

_I never really_

_Wanted you to go_

_So many things you should have known._

_I guess for me there's just no hope._

_I never meant to be so cold._

_What I really meant to say_

_Is I'm sorry for the way_

_I am._

_I never meant to be so cold._

_Never meant to be so cold._

_What I really meant to say_

_Is I'm sorry for the way_

_I am._

_I never meant to be so cold._

_Never meant to be so cold._

The notes faded into an uncomfortable silence as the two of them stared over the cliff. The faint moonlight shined down onto the calm meadow below. For a while neither of them talked, until Athena spoke, "I know you didn't mean what you said…but it still hurts."

"I know…I'm so sorry." Leon said, "I never thought I would be stupid enough to say such a thing."

Athena paused for a moment, "Before I had met you…there were plenty of cheetahs who had offered to be my mate…do you know why I'm not with them?"

"I do not." Leon stated.

"It was because none of them understood my pain…for a long time, no one did…and then there was you." Athena paused again, "We had a connection that no one else could offer…and then it came to this."

Leon rested his head on her shoulder, "I know I don't deserve your forgiveness…or love...but know that even if you won't talk to me…or even look at me…I will still protect you…I will _always_ protect you."

Athena didn't talk for a long moment, until, "Don't be an idiot…of course I forgive you…but don't think I'll forget about this."

"I understand."

"And when we get back to Warfang…well…you might want to ask some of male cheetahs what it's like to mate with a spiteful female."

Leon was somewhat afraid to ask, "How bad is it?"

"You wont be walking right for about a week."

"I see…hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

"Damn right." Athena gave a giggle, it was subtle, but it was enough to let Leon know that things were all right between them.

"You can go inside if you'd like…I'll take over." Leon said.

"No, I'm not tired, you go ahead."

"And what if I'm not tired either?" Leon asked, raising his head up from her shoulder.

"Then I suppose we could just stay up and let the other's get their rest."

"That sounds good to me." Leon stated.

"Hey, Leon…" Athena began.

"I love you, too." Leon stated, knowing what the cheetah was about to say.

_Spyro found himself in the Chronicler's library, but he immediately noticed that something was amiss. The room was fading and out along with the Chronicler himself, "Ignitus…what's going on?" Spyro asked._

"_Something's been blocking me from reaching you." Ignitus said. "Spyro, there isn't much time…I have seen the future and…" Ignitus began cutting in and out, "forces…capture…summon…master…found…trapped…crystal…betrays..."_

"_Ignitus!" Spyro yelled as the Chronicler and the library disappeared._

"Ignitus!" Spyro awoke with a start and woke Cynder and the rest of the slumbering vanguards in the process.

"Spyro…what's wrong?" Cynder asked, worriedly.

"I…I'm not sure." Spyro repeated what words he had heard from Ignitus in his head, but he couldn't make any sense of them. A soft groan broke his concentration and the vanguards looked over to see Crystal slowly wake from her unconscious state.

"Hey guys." She said, groggily.

"Oh, thank the ancestors." Flare breathed a sigh of relief.

"What did I miss?"

"Nothing much…we just got thrown off track a little bit." Flare said, nuzzling her.

"What time is it?"

Spyro looked outside where the bright sun reflected off of the snow, "Early…come on, lets go check on Leon and Athena."

"Right." The vanguards said in unison. The dragons rose to their feet and stretched themselves out before heading toward the mouth of the cave. Flare slowed down for Crystal, who was a little unsteady on her feet. When they had finally gotten outside, they spotted Leon staring at the sunset with his arms wrapped around Athena. The two of them had not moved all night, but, while the pain of their cramping joints was great, the pleasure of sharing in each other's warmth was even greater.

"I guess they made up." Spyro said to Cynder.

"I knew they would." Cynder stated as the dragons approached the human and cheetah.

"You guys alright?" Spyro asked when they were closer.

Leon and Athena looked over their shoulders at the approaching dragons. Both of their eyes were severely bloodshot. "Hey guys." Athena said.

"You should have woken us up if you were tired." Charlotte said.

"You guys carry us around all day, the least we could do is let you get some shut-eye." Leon stated "We might be able to catch a few winks while we're in the air anyway." It was then that he noticed Crystal, "Ah good, you're awake…are you feeling well?"

"I'm fine, thanks." Crystal stated.

"We'd better get moving then." Spyro stated.

"Yeah, the sooner the better." Leon said, he made a move to get up, but found that he couldn't.

"Ouch!" Athena yelped.

"Uh oh." Leon said.

"Oh, you have_ got _to be kidding me." Athena said.

"What's wrong?" Flare asked.

"Well…I guess that the water particles that had gathered on our bodies overnight have solidified creating a bridge between her fur and my armor." Leon stated.

"…what the hell did you just say?" Sparx asked.

"Sorry…I get…politically correct when I'm tired."

"I'm guessing the dumbed-down version is…we're frozen together." Athena said.

"That would be correct."

The dragons laughed at their situation. "Okay…so how are we going to do this?" Athena asked.

"Fast and hard." Leon stated.

"Great…but we have to get unstuck first."

Leon chuckled slightly, "Just hold on."

"Okay." Athena braced herself.

"1...2...3!" Leon jerked backwards taking some of Athena's fur with him. Athena let out a short shrill scream as she felt her hair violently being ripped from the roots. The two of them stood up and Leon began picking the pieces of frozen fur off of his body. Athena rubbed a small patch of fur on her arm that was bleeding and almost bald.

"You're going to pay for that one too," Athena stated.

Leon grabbed her arm, and planted a kiss on the wound, "Better?"

"Hmm…I suppose." Athena stated, "I guess it's my turn now." Athena then began gently kissing the scratches she had put on his face, before planting a long kiss on his lips.

"It's nice to see that you two have made up." Cynder said.

"He's not off the hook yet…but we'll deal with that later." Athena stated, evilly.

"Alright, lets get going." Spyro said, "Which way Leon?"

Leon pointed towards the east, "That way…we'll hit plenty of potential campsites along the way."

"Great." Spyro said. The vanguards took off once again and headed for the distant mountains. Leon looked over at Athena and found that she was already fast asleep. He smiled before closing his eyes and letting the peace of slumber take him as well.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_Leon once again found himself at the top of the tower in Warfang. "You're a sorry excuse for a human…do you know that?" Sin said as he sat in his throne of dragon bones. Leon turned around, but said nothing to the entity. Sin's dark dragons kept their white glowing eyes on Leon. "Do you really think that this is going to absolve you?" Sin asked. Leon kept silent, "Hmm…not talkative today, eh…that's fine…we both know what lies between you and the tall plains…the only question is…what will happen when you get there…will you have the strength to push on…will you just give up and wait for death…or, best case scenario…will you finally get your damn head straight about the dragons?" Again, Leon said nothing. "Well, whatever the case…I'll be there to see." Sin stated. "Now, be gone…I have work to do." The tower began fading away until Leon was surrounded by darkness._

Leon awoke and found that he was still in the air. "It's about time you woke up." Cynder stated. Leon looked out at the slowly setting sun.

"Where are those camping spots?" Spyro asked.

Leon squinted at his surrounding to get a clue of where they were. The forest was steadily becoming rockier as they neared the mountains. "There." He pointed towards a small rock formation that featured a plateau that would shield them from any wandering eyes on the forest floor.

Spyro and Cynder placed Leon on the rocky cliff, "Um, a little help here." Charlotte said. Her and Fang were hovering over the cliff with Athena, who was still fast asleep. "She sleeps like a rock."

"Here, hand her over." Leon held out his arms and the dragons gently laid the cheetah into them.

"Alright, we'll take care of setting up the camp tonight since we can move up and down this rock easier than you and Athena." Spyro stated.

"Yeah, good idea." Leon said.

"I can take care of them." Sparx stated.

"I'm sure you can." Cynder said, sarcastically.

"Okay, Flare, you and…" Spyro gave orders to the vanguards and the dragons dispersed, leaving Leon, Sparx and Athena on the plateau.

"Wow, it's cold up here." Sparx stated.

"Well, I've got a treat for you guys." Leon stated.

"Like what?"

"You'll see." Leon said, "When the others get back take them straight through there." Leon indicated with his head towards a small crevice in the rock face. "We'll be waiting."

"Why can't I go, and you stay here and wait for the others?"

"Okay, here, take Athena."

"…I'll just wait here."

"Good man." Leon stated before carrying the cheetah through the small opening in the rocks. He made sure that he did not bump the cheetah's head against the rocks. After maneuvering through the thin passage he felt the temperature rise and he saw what he was looking for. Tall rocks surrounded a hot spring that he had discovered during one of his explorations. The steam from the water created a faint mist that obscured the surrounding rocks. Leon gently set Athena on the ground near the spring. "I'm probably going to get in trouble for this." Leon thought to himself before removing his tunic. He looked at the cheetah before turning his attention to the spring. He took two steps before leaping into the steaming water. The resulting splash soaked Athena, and the cheetah awoke with a start.

"Hey, what the hell!" Athena yelled.

"Oh, your awake." Leon said, innocently, as he rested his head in his arms on the edge of the water

"Go ahead, dig your grave deeper." Athena said, spitefully, "Where are the others?"

"Hunting…we're camping just outside this place."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"All day." Leon stated, "Come join me...the water's nice and warm."

"Well…I can't say 'no' to that." Athena stated.

Spyro and Cynder took the job of collecting wood for a fire. While Cynder collected sticks and placed them into her life-mate's makeshift satchel, Spyro told her of Ignitus' broken warning, "I just wonder what could be keeping him from reaching us." Spyro said.

"I don't know." Cynder said, "The dark master maybe?"

"In any case, Ignitus was trying to tell me something important…and I hope that we find out what it was before it comes to pass."

"Great, as if we didn't have enough to worry about." Cynder said before picking up another stick.

"But just think…we're so close now…to a time of peace." Spyro stated. Cynder muffled something through the twig in her mouth. "Heh…what was that?"

Cynder placed the stick into Spyro's satchel, "I said 'I know, it'll be great'."

"Oh…yeah, it will be."

"And the best part…is that I get to spend it with you." Cynder said before licking Spyro lovingly on the snout.

"I love you." Spyro said.

"I love you, too." Cynder stated, "Now come on, that should be enough wood." Spyro nodded and the two of them took off, back towards the plateau.

Charlotte, Crystal, Flare, and Fang eyed the herd of sheep just a few feet away from the bushes they were crouched in. Flare looked worriedly at Crystal; she had insisted on coming along despite her mate insisting that she needed more time to recover. Fang tapped Charlotte on the leg and whispered, "Ladies first."

"Oh, what a gentleman." Charlotte whispered, sarcastically. She then studied the closest of the sheep before leaping out with a snarl and clamping her jaws around the sheep's neck. The rest of the vanguard leapt out as well and targeted their own prey. Fang jumped onto the back of another sheep and drove his tailblade deep into its side. Flare leapt towards another sheep, but coughed violently mid-leap. He was too distracted to notice that the sheep had turned its hind legs towards the dragon. The fire breather yelped as the sheep kicked him hard in the snout, sending him skidding across the ground. The sheep was preparing to escape, but Crystal jumped onto it's back and clamped her jaws around its neck. The sheep thrashed around wildly until Crystal jerked her head, breaking the animal's spine and driving it to the ground.

"Flare, you okay?" Fang asked, running towards the fallen fire breather.

Flare slowly rose to his feet, and Charlotte gasped when he spat out a glob of blood. Flare then felt around the inside of his mouth, "Dammit, I lost a fang."

"Oh thank the ancestors." Charlotte breathed in relief, "I though you had ruptured something."

"Here let me see." Crystal said. Flare obliged and opened his mouth as wide as he could, "Wow, that's some bad breath." Crystal joked.

"Oh, ha ha." Flare said, sarcastically.

Crystal's eyes fell upon a single bleeding space near the back of her mate's jawline. "Looks like that sheep got you good." Crystal observed, "This may be a little cold." Crystal then used her ice breath to cap off the bleeding gum. Flare shivered a little as he closed his mouth.

"Thanks." Flare said.

"No problem."

"Okay, let's get back to the other's." Fang said.

The other vanguards waited on the plateau for Flare's group. "Hey guys." Twitch said as the group landed near the fire with their catch.

"Any trouble?" Spyro asked.

"Not much." Flare stated.

"Besides the fact that Flare got his ass kicked by a sheep." Fang chided.

"I was distracted."

Charlotte giggled, "That cold is going to kill you someday."

"Uh…yeah." Flare said in a somewhat dismal tone.

"Flare, you okay?" Spyro asked.

"Yeah…yeah I'm fine." Flare stated.

"Alright Sparx," Cynder began, "everyone's here, now where is Athena and my father?"

"Follow me." Sparx stated. The dragonfly led the dragons through the small crevice that Leon had shown him. The dragons maneuvered through the tight space until they came to the hot spring. Athena sat with her head resting on Leon's shoulder.

"Oh wow…" Cynder gasped.

"Hey there, guys." Athena said.

"I see you two have been enjoying your time off." Spyro stated.

"I wanted to show you all this place." Leon said.

"Where are we?" Charlotte asked.

"I had discovered this place some time ago…the thermals that run under this mountain lead to a long-dead volcano."

"Come join us." Athena said. Cynder tested the water with her paw before lowering herself into the spring, followed by the rest of the vanguards.

Ah…that's much better." Twitch said as he sat between Zephyr and Athena. While he relaxed, he accidentally brushed Athena's bare thigh with his tail, and the cheetah jumped in surprise. "Oops, sorry."

"You're lucky I believe it was an accident." Athena stated.

"Well, _maybe _you should keep your clothes on while we're not in private." Leon stated.

"And walk around in wet armor, I don't think so."

"I kinda agree with Athena on that one." Charlotte said.

"You guys don't even wear clothing unless it's a special occasion." Leon stated with a chuckle.

"Good point." Charlotte said, giggling.

"So…how much farther is this shortcut of yours?" Spyro asked.

Leon's smile faded in an instant. He looked up at the sky and sighed, "Too close…we should reach it by sundown tomorrow."

"Good…is there a safe place to rest?"

Leon had not considered the thought of resting; he had hoped to make it through his shortcut as fast as possible, but he also knew that the dragons needed their sleep, "Yes…but we won't be able to hunt for food, so gorge yourselves tonight."

"Sounds good." Spyro said, "In that case, we should probably go eat before the sheep spoil."

The vanguards nodded in agreement. "Go ahead, we'll be right behind you." Athena said. The dragons removed themselves from the spring and returned to the campsite. They butchered and cooked the sheep meat and the scent made their mouths water. Leon and Athena emerged from the crevasse about five minutes after the meat had finished cooking. The vanguards didn't have any trouble tearing through the meat, and the food was devoured within fifteen minutes.

"Alright, let's get some sleep." Spyro said.

"Yeah, definitely." Twitch said, yawning. The vanguards lay down with their usual bedmates.

Cynder lay next to Spyro and kissed him on the snout. "I love you." Spyro said.

"I love too." Cynder said as she laid her head down and quickly fell asleep. It wasn't long until the other vanguards succumbed to their exhaustion as well.

"This way." Gorrak said to the apes that trailed behind him. The apes were rapidly scaling the mountain to get a better view of the range.

"Sir, how much farther is it?" One ape asked.

"Is that complaining I hear?" Gorrak asked.

"N-no sir." The ape quickly stuttered.

"Good." Gorrak said. When the apes had finally reached the peak, several of them collapsed from exhaustion. Gorrak couldn't blame them; they had traveled for two days straight with little to no rest, and the lack of sleep was getting to him as well. "We sleep here." He heard several sighs of relief. "Don't get too relaxed, we leave first thing in the morning."

The next day, the vanguards had finally reached the mountain range. They landed near the foot of the tall mountain chain the served as the final barrier between Avalar and the shadowlands. The constant downdraft prevented any possible chance of flight. Spyro remembered his first trip to the floating islands. He had, by some miracle, avoided the winds completely, but now, the only well known way to reach the plains was by climbing, and Spyro hoped that Leon's shortcut had as little climbing as possible. "Which way?" Spyro asked.

"This way." Leon said, pointing towards a small opening in the rocks. Leon led the dragons through the opening where they came to a wooded area of the mountains. They stayed close to the rock wall as the trudged through the snow. It was then that they came to a cave and the Athena and the dragons felt a cold chill run down their spines. They knew they were close to something, but they weren't sure what.

"Um…in there?" Twitch asked as he began convulsing wildly.

"Yes." Leon stated, plainly.

"Alright, we don't have any time to waste." Spyro stated. With that the vanguards pushed forward into the darkness.

"I can't see anything." Cynder stated.

"Hold on." Leon grabbed his javelin and charged it with convexity. The crystal grew brighter and cast a purple light that illuminated the cave.

A shrill scream caught the vanguards attention, "Zephyr, what's wrong!" Twitch asked.

"L-look." Zephyr pointed with her tail towards a hole in the rocks. Inside the hole, six glowing red eyes stared at the vanguards. Leon leaned down and let his javelin illuminate the hole, revealing a black spider that was only a few inches smaller than the adolescent dragons.

"It's only a cave spider." Leon stated, "We're far too big for it to eat."

"It's still creepy." Zephyr stated.

"Don't bother it, and it won't bother you." Leon stated, rising to his feet, "Come…let's move forward."

The vanguards continued to move through the cave, passing more of the spider holes along the way. After about twenty minutes of trudging through the darkness, a faint purple light in the distance caught their attention. Leon put away his javelin as they began passing large dark crystals that cast a bright purple light. It was then that, much to the vanguards surprise, Leon stopped dead in his tracks. "What's wrong?" Spyro asked.

"I…I can't do this." Leon stuttered.

"Why not?"

"I just…can't."

"Hey," Athena said in a soothing tone as she grabbed his hand, "it's okay…we'll do it together."

Leon took a few deep breaths before nodding his head. The vanguards continued pushing forward and their eyes widened as the cave opened up into a large chamber where the found the petrified remains of a large city. Dark crystals protruded out of the ceilings and walls, casting an eerie purple light over the vast underground city. "No way." Twitch gaped as they came to a stop just outside the first row of buildings.

"Where are we?" Crystal asked.

Cynder noticed an old rusted shield and, as she moved closer, she could make out the symbol on the front of it. It was a symbol that she had only seen on a two objects, both of which belongs to Leon; a lone wolf with the rising sun at its back. Cynder turned and looked at the human, "Dad…is this…"

Leon nodded before uttering a single word, "Home."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The vanguards could not believe that they stood in the remains of the city that Leon had grown up in. "How is this possible?" Spyro asked.

"Over two thousand years of shifting rocks buried it under the mountain." Leon said.

"It must've been beautiful." Athena said.

"It was." Leon said, sadly

"Are you going to be okay?" Cynder asked.

Leon took a deep breath before saying, "You know…it's almost funny…I've traveled throughout Avalar…living in constant suffering…trying to keep a distance from my past…and in the end…I still came full circle."

"It's hard to believe, isn't it?" Athena asked.

Leon nodded, "But what you believe and what's reality are two separate things…I understand now that you can't run from your past." Leon took a moment to stare at the dark crystal encrusted buildings before him.

"Should we give you a minute?" Spyro asked.

"No…it's not going to get any easier." Leon stated. Spyro nodded and Leon began to lead the vanguards through the petrified remains of the city. With each step Leon felt as if his legs were about to give out.

As the vanguards made their way deeper into the city, Crystal gasped, "What are those?"

The vanguards looked over to see the ghostly purple image of a young woman, who did not seem to notice the vanguards as she walked by. "It's the crystals." Leon explained, "They're using my memories to project these phantoms." Another two phantom humans walked across the street in front of the vanguards. "Don't be afraid of them."

"We're not." Twitch stated.

"I was talking to myself." Leon said, "Let's keep going."

As the vanguards continued down the street they saw more of the phantoms that inhabited the city. Children played in the streets as if nothing was wrong, men and woman walked hand in hand beside them. The city was as lively as it would have been two thousand years ago. Eventually the vanguards turned a corner and their eyes were drawn to the huge white tower that stood watch over the city. They came to a plaza where they noticed four very large dark crystals that seemed to be set in a square shape. The vanguards passed the first two crystals, but when they got to the last two, the crystals created a wall of convexity that surrounded them. "What's going on?" Flare asked as he got into a defensive position.

"I had to keep this place protected." Leon explained. "Stay calm." The vanguards watched as a purple haze rose from the ground and took the shape of Leon's parents. Leon looked straight at them and said in a calm voice, "Thine wayward son returneth home."

Leon's father nodded solemnly before saying in a kind voice "May the sun light your path."

The two entities vanished along with the convexity barriers, that blocked their path to the white tower, "How did the orcs make it through here." Flare asked.

"You really think I would let them defile this place?" Leon asked, "I made them find their own way up the mountains."

"Good call." Twitch stated.

The group continued through the plaza, and ascended the marble steps to the tower. They stopped directly in front of the tower and Leon turned to them, "I would suggest that you keep your forward and do not look down." He stated.

The dragons wondered what the purpose of his statement was, but they didn't question him. Leon pushed open the large doors and the vanguards laid eyes on a floor that was completely made of dark crystal. Leon began leading across the crystalline floor towards the circular stone door that had previously saved Leon from suffering the same fate as the rest of his people. Athena found her curiosity growing by the minute. Her mental strength failed her and her eyes fell to her feet, and the became wide as saucers "Dear god…" She gaped.

Her statement caused the other vanguards to turn to the floor as well and they found themselves frozen in place. Men, women, and children of Leon's race lay under the crystal in three circles, with one male and female set in the center. Their bodies had been preserved by their crystal grave. Cynder took a closer look at the two humans in the center, and she realized whom they were, "These are your parents." She said, turning to Leon.

Leon kept his eyes forward to avoid looking at his parents, but, no matter how hard he fought it, he could not stop the tears from dripping down his face, "I…I couldn't just leave them to be eaten by birds…they deserved better…they all did." He felt a mixture of feelings well up inside him; Greif, anger, but mostly a great sense of failure.

He then felt Athena's warm paw on his shoulder, "You did the best you could for them." She said, sympathetically. Leon reached up and placed his hand on top of hers. He then proceeded to lead the vanguards up the small set of stairs before turning right and ascending another set of stairs. After about five minutes of walking, they came to the second floor. This floor featured an open room with what seemed to be a stage set at the far end. Several dark crystals protruded from the ground and cast their purple light over the floor

"The ball room." Leon explained, "Many joyous occasions were held here; war victories, weddings, or just a general celebration for no reason other than life being too short." Leon said before adding in a sad tone, "Sometimes shorter than we think." As he spoke, a purple mist flowed from the dark crystals.

"Whoa." Flare said as the mist formed into humans that either conversed with each other or danced with their female counterparts to an unheard melody. While they stared at the scene, Cynder's eyes fell upon a particular phantom that resembled her father, conversing with five other humans.

Leon followed her gaze, "That was my band…and my best friends; Xander was always the hard headed one…even worse than me; Arthur was always the shy one…never saying more than a few words at a time," Leon came to the third human, and let out a small choked chuckle, "Rios, on the other hand, was a hard man to shut up; Jonathan…always getting himself into the worst possible situations…He once got himself stuck in the side of a cliff because he saw something shiny and he thought it was treasure…turned out, it was just the light reflecting off a puddle that was in the cave; and Dominic...probably the most level headed of us all…whenever there was a fight between us he would normally be the one to calm us down." Leon then sighed deeply, "He went to Clarence with Sierra…and he made a promise to me that he would protect her…or die trying…he _always_ kept his promises." The vanguards watched as another phantom that resembled Sierra tapped the shoulder of Leon's phantom. They had a conversation that the vanguards could not hear before Sierra took Leon by the hand and dragged him to the dance floor. Athena felt uncomfortable as she watched her newfound love begin to dance with another female. Even if it was over two thousand years ago, she could not help but feel jealous. Leon watched as one of his happiest memories was replayed before him, but he found that he could not bear to watch much more. "Come." Leon then led them up another set of stairs. The stairs ended at a hallway with two doors, Leon stopped at the one on the right. He reached out and hesitantly pushed the door open with a loud creak. The vanguards peaked inside where they found a very elegant bedchamber. "This…was my room."

The vanguards marveled at the sheer size if the bedchamber. It was big enough to fit several large dragons comfortably. "Wow...I don't think that even the council has bedchambers this big." Twitch stated.

"We can stay here for the night." Leon said.

"Wait...here?" Crystal asked, "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure it's the safest place to rest…and that's all that matters at this point."

"Well, if you're okay with it." Spyro said.

"Um…a-are you sure that we'll be safe." Twitch asked, convulsing slightly.

"What's wrong with you?" Zephyr asked.

"Well…this place…it's a graveyard."

"You're not afraid of ghosts, are you?" Sparx asked.

"You're damn right I am."

"Aw, don't worry, I'll protect you." Zephyr said, earning a glare from her mate.

"There aren't any spirits here," Leon said, "but I'll sleep by the door if it makes you feel better."

"Yeah…okay." Twitch said.

"Nice bed." Fang said as he stared at the mattress that was surrounded by a wooden frame and tattered curtains.

"I never spent more than four hours at a time in that bed." Leon stated, "Other important matters always called my attention."

"Was it comfortable?" Twitch asked.

"It was…but don't even think about it."

"What?"

"You know what." Leon said, "You and Zephyr would probably catch something on that thing."

"What makes you think that I-"?

"Oh come on, Twitch," Zephyr interrupted, "we all know you too well to know what's going through your head."

"Well…yeah, okay."

"But if you think I'm going to do something like that here, than you _must_ be ill in the head."

"Okay let's get to sleep before Twitch has anymore ideas." Cynder said.

"Good idea." Spyro stated, "We still have to see how far away the bridge is from here."

The vanguards nodded before picking their spots and lying down. Leon took a look out of the window at the place that had made him what he was before lying down next to the door. Athena lay next to him and she wrapped her arms around his torso. "You made it through." She stated.

"Only with the help of you and Cynder." Leon stated, "Thank you…for everything."

"Anything for you." Athena stated before closing her eyes and falling asleep.

_Athena heard the sound of crackling fire and she opened her eyes to find that she was in no longer beside her lover, but instead in the middle of a street with smoldering buildings all around her, "Is this…Warfang?" She asked herself, "What the hell is going on?"_

"_This isn't Warfang." A familiar voice said from behind her. Athena turned to see some one that resembled Leon, except his irises were crimson and he glowed with a white aura._

_Athena narrowed his eyes at the entity, "You…you're the one who helped us before."_

"_Indeed."_

"_Where are we?"_

"_We are in Leon's mind…well…Leon's mind as Sin would have it."_

"_So…who are you?"_

"_Hmm…" the entity thought for a moment, "for the time being, you may call me Abel."_

"_Well then…Abel, what's going on?"_

_Abel took in a deep breath, "Sin and I were born through Leon's dark crystal experiments…Sin was born of his hatred…and I was born of his kindness."_

"_So…you're his conscience?"_

"_I suppose that's one way of looking at it." Abel stated, "In any case, Sin and I both agreed that choosing to lay dormant until the day that Leon would require our assistance would be the best option."_

"_You mean you actually reasoned with that evil monster?" Athena asked in a confused tone._

"_Good and evil depends on your point of view." Abel explained, "Do you truly believe that Malefore or the orcs consider themselves evil?"_

"_I…guess not."_

"_And a good number of dragons consider your new love to be evil, do they not?"_

"_Yes, but that's just…"_

"_Their point of view?"_

"_I…guess I see your point."_

"_Well, continuing on...After a while, Sin became…edgy…to say the least…and, eventually, he formulated the idea that we were destined to help Leon ascend and become a 'god'." Abel shook his head shamefully, "He wanted me to assist him, and when I declined, he called me weak and said that there was no place for someone like me in Leon's mind."_

"_So, what happened?"_

"_We fought…but quickly found that we were too equally matched…our battle would have killed Leon had I stopped the attack…Sin took my faltering strength to his advantage, and I was sealed in the darkest part of Leon's mind…a place of pure pain and misery."_

"_I see…and how did you escape?"_

"_Something happened…something that Sin did not expect."_

"_What was that?"_

"_Leon fell in love…again." Abel stated. Athena was slightly taken aback, "You see…in the end…you and Cynder have turned out to be his saving grace…but that does not mean that Leon is safe yet."_

"_How do I protect him?"_

"_You must-"_

"_So, you're calling yourself 'Abel'?" A warped voice cut Abel off. Abel and Athena looked towards one of the rooftops to find Sin perched there with his nine dark dragons. "A perfect name for a perfect weakling."_

_Abel quickly turned to Athena, "I am sorry, but it seems our time has been cut short." Athena's eyes widened in surprise she was blinded by bright light just before her world went dark._

**I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, happy Kwanzaa, and last, but certainly not least, a happy New Year.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Athena's eyes snapped open and she jolted to an upright position. She looked around and sighed when she realized she was back in the white tower in Arcadia. Much to her relief, she hadn't stirred the other vanguards, but as she turned to her left, she realized that Leon had disappeared. She also noticed that the door to the room was slightly ajar. Her curiosity, combined with her concern for Leon led her to rise to her feet and slowly open the door. The resounding creak made her cringe and look back to make sure that she did not wake anyone. She made her way into the hallway and headed down the stairs. As she came closer to the ballroom of the tower, she began hearing noises, like the patter of feet. She came to a stop at the ballroom to find Leon dancing with the purple phantom of Sierra. Other phantoms danced around them and the group of humans that Leon had pointed out to the vanguards earlier took to the stage and their instruments materialized in their hands. Athena stayed back so the phantoms would partially hide her from Leon. The band began to play a song and Leon began to sing as he danced with Sierra's phantom while the band backed his vocals;

_She says she's no good_

_With words, but I'm worse._

_Barely stuttered out a joke of a romantic_

_Or stuck to my tongue._

_Weighed down with words too_

_Overdramatic_

_Tonight it's 'It can't get much worse.'_

_Verse 'No one should ever feel like.'_

_I'm two quarters and a heart down,_

_And I don't wanna forget how your voice sounds._

_These words are all I have, so I'll write them._

_So you need them just to get by._

_{Dance, Dance.}_

_{We're falling apart to half time.}_

_{Dance, dance.}_

_And these are the lives you'd love to lead._

_Dance, this is the way they'd love if they knew_

_How misery loved me._

_You always fold just_

_Before you found out._

_Drink up, it's last call, last resort,_

_But only the first mistake and_

_I'm two quarters and a heart down,_

_And I don't wanna forget how your voice sounds._

_These words are all I have, so I'll write them._

_So you need them just to get by._

_Why don't you show me_

_The little bit of spine_

_You've been saving for his mattress,_

_Love?_

_{Dance, Dance.}_

_{We're falling apart to half time}._

_{Dance, dance.}_

_And these are the lives you'd love to lead._

_Dance, this is the way they'd love if they knew_

_How misery loved me._

_{Why don't you show me}_

_{The little bit of spine}_

_{You've been saving for his mattress,}_

_(Mattress)_

_(Mattress)_

_{I only want sympathy in the form of you}_

_Crawling into bed with me._

_{Dance, Dance.}_

_{We're falling apart to half time.}_

_{Dance, dance.}_

_And these are the lives you'd love to lead._

_Dance, this is the way they'd love,_

_(Way they'd love.)_

_Dance, this is the way they'd love,_

_(Way they'd love.)_

_Dance, this is the way they'd love if they knew_

_How misery loved me._

_Dance, dance._

_Dance, dance._

_Dance, dance._

_Dance, dance._

The notes faded into silence and it was then that Leon noticed that he was no longer the only one in the room that was not a phantom. Athena caught his eye and he immediately felt embarrassed. He sighed deeply as Sierra disappeared from his arms, along with the rest of the phantoms. He and Athena stared at each other for a long while before Leon said, "I'm sorry."

Athena stayed silent for a minute before saying, "It's okay." Though she did not truly feel like it was, and Leon could sense it.

"You know it's not."

Athena thought for a moment, "I…know your love is divided…and I know I could never fill the hole that Sierra left…but I'm trying my best to."

"I know you are…but Sierra will always have a place in my heart…I can't forget about her."

"I would never ask you too…I just wish you could love me the same way you love her."

"…Then, I'm sorry…but I can't grant you that wish…I could never love you like I could Sierra." Athena turned her gaze downward. Leon approached her and used his hand to bring her eyes up to meet his. "but I _can_ love you like I love Athena…because my heart truly does belong to you as well…is that not enough?"

Athena gave him a loving smile, "That and more."

Leon nodded, "Now…I believe the next dance, and song is yours." The phantoms of the band reappeared on the stage and readied themselves.

"Oh…I don't think your band would know of my songs."

"Trust me, just think about a song…and I'll take care of the rest."

"Well…there is this one that my parents would sing…but it takes two to do it properly." Athena remembered the melody in her head and Leon managed to work his way into her mind. Much to Athena's surprise the band started playing a slow melody.

"Sound about right?" Leon asked.

"Y-yes." Athena stuttered.

"Good." Leon then took the cheetah's hand and pulled her close, "Now…don't think…just sing."

Athena nodded and the two of them began to dance and Athena began singing while Leon took the role of back-up.

_How can you see into my eyes_

_Like open doors?_

_Leading you down into my core_

_Where I've become so numb._

_Without a soul._

_My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold._

_Until you find it there and lead…it…back…_

_Home._

_(Wake me up.)_

_Wake me up inside._

_(I can't wake up.)_

_Wake me up inside._

_(Save me.)_

_Call my name and save me from the dark._

_(Wake me up.)_

_Bid my blood to run._

_(Wake me up.)_

_Before I come undone._

_(Save me.)_

_Save me from the nothing I've become._

_Now that I know what I'm without_

_You can't just leave me._

_Breath into me and make me real._

_Bring…me…to life._

_(Wake me up.)_

_Wake me up inside._

_(I can't wake up.)_

_Wake me up inside._

_(Save me.)_

_Call my name and save me from the dark._

_(Wake me up.)_

_Bid my blood to run._

_(Wake me up.)_

_Before I come undone._

_(Save me.)_

_Save me from the nothing I've become._

_Bring me to life._

_(I've been living a lie.)_

_(There's nothing inside.)_

_Bring me to life._

_Frozen in time_

_Without your touch,_

_Without your love, darling._

_Only you are the life among the dead._

_(All this time)_

_(I can't believe I couldn't see.)_

_(Kept in the dark,)_

_(But you were there in front of me.)_

_I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems._

_Got to open my eyes for everything._

_(Without a thought, without a voice, without a soul.)_

_{Don't let me die here.}_

_(There must be something more.)_

_Bring me to life._

_(Wake me up.)_

_Wake me up inside._

_(I can't wake up.)_

_Wake me up inside._

_(Save me.)_

_Call my name and save me from the dark._

_(Wake me up.)_

_Bid my blood to run._

_(Wake me up.)_

_Before I come undone._

_(Save me.)_

_Save me from the nothing I've become._

_Bring me to life._

_(I've been living a lie.)_

_(There's nothing inside.)_

_Bring me to life._

The notes faded away, as did the phantoms, leaving Leon and Athena tightly embracing in the middle of the ballroom. "That was beautiful." Leon said.

"Thanks." Athena said.

"Why don't you sing more often?"

Athena shrugged her shoulders, "I guess I've never had the chance."

"That's a shame." Leon stated, "We'll have to fix that."

"If you say so." Athena said before yawning.

"Come on…let's get back to bed."

"No argument here." Athena stated before her and Leon headed back up the stairs.

An orc headed up the stairs in Malefore's dark crystal spire with a large yellow crystal being carried by two apes trailing him. He entered the top chamber to find the dark master snoozing at the far end of the room. The orc cautiously approached the large dragon and tapped him on his flank.

"M-master?" The orc said, timidly.

Malefore opened his eyes and let out an annoyed snort before lifting his head up and fixing his cold stare on the orc, "This had better be good."

"We…we found something in one of the mines that might interest you." The orc explained. The two apes sat the large crystal upright and Malefore rose to his feet to examine it. As the purple dragon moved closer, he noticed a slender figure inside the crystal, and it made his eyes grow wide.

"Impossible." He said, "Which mine did you find this at?"

"The one near the shadowlands, master." An ape said.

"Was there anything else?"

"Just this." The orc held out a small rusted key.

"Hmm…that's of no use to me…give it to Gwar…since he's just as useless."

"Yes, master." The orc said.

"As for this..." Malefore turned his attention back to the crystal, "this will certainly make things more…interesting."

_Leon found himself walking down the street in Arcadia, but he found himself unable to control his movements. He received smiles and curt nods from passing men and women. It was only when his looked downward that he realized that this body wasn't even his; mainly because this body had breasts. He was completely dumbfounded until he saw another person running towards him. As the person came closer, he realized that it was himself. The Leon in front of him skidded to a halt and struggled to catch his breath. "Your late." Said a woman's voice. Leon then realized that this was one of his memories…but through Sierra's eyes._

"_What the hell is going on?" Leon thought to himself._

"_I know, I'm sorry." Leon's past self said, "The captain held me back for extra practice."_

"_Well, at least you didn't leave me waiting for an hour like last time." Sierra stated._

"_We had an accident in the lab…it's not easy being a prince you know."_

_Sierra giggled, "I know…I'm just teasing you."_

"_So…ready for our walk?"_

"_Always." Sierra said._

Leon awoke and sat up next to Athena. "What was all that about?" Leon whispered to himself. He had often had dreams of his past, but they had always been through his own eyes. "Perhaps it's just from being here." He concluded. His attention was drawn away from his thoughts as the vanguards began to stir.

"What time is it?" Fang asked as he yawned and popped his spinal cord.

"There's not really a way to tell." Flare stated.

"We'll find out once we get out of here." Spyro said as he rubbed his eyes with the back of his paw, "Are you guys ready to go?"

"More than ready." Leon said, standing to his feet, "Come on, it's back downstairs." The vanguards nodded and Leon led them back into the hallway.

Cynder stopped just outside the door and stared at the door across the hall, "Hey, dad?"

"Hmm?"

"What's in there…if you don't mind me asking."

"That was my parents room." Leon stated, "Every time I walked in there, father would be busy with papers on taxes or treaties with the other races or human cities…and mother would be reading history scrolls…she had a great obsession with the past…she told me that there used to be an ancient human city not far from here…and how she wished that she was young enough to go treasure hunting."

"So that's how you know so much about history?" Charlotte asked.

"Yes…but sometimes she liked to confuse history with myths," Leon said, "but that was okay…I enjoyed studying the legends of old, even took a few notes...shame that the orcs took them when they raided moonlight cave."

"I doubt that they can even read." Fang hissed.

"Indeed…well, I've given you a tour of the rest of the tower…might as well let you see how the king and queen lived." Leon pushed the door open and the vanguards peered inside. There were fewer dark crystals here than anywhere else in the city, making the room very dark. They could still see that it was big, much larger than Leon's bedchamber. Leon entered the room and squinted in the darkness, it was then that the vanguards heard a scratching noise that caused them all to tense up. About a second later Leon felt a massive weight drop on top of him pin him to the ground, where he then felt a sharp searing pain in his shoulder. Leon screamed in pain and attempted to reach for his javelin, but a long, hairy leg locked his arm down.

"Leon!" Athena yelled before unsheathing her rapiers and leaping forward.

The beast leaped back as Athena came down with her blades and she narrowly missed stabbing Leon through his already wounded shoulder. Spyro leaped in and breathed a hot stream of fire that lit up the chamber and revealed their assailant; A very large cave spider which had six large purple eyes and purple liquid dripping down it's two fangs. "Their not supposed to get that big." Leon stated as Athena helped him to his feet. The spider ran to the back of the bed chamber and Spyro fired an ice spike that barely missed it, and the ice shattered against the stone wall. The spider disappeared into the darkness and the vanguards lost sight of the large arachnid.

"Shit, I lost it." Spyro said.

Leon fed some energy into his javelin to attempt to light up the room but there were still plenty of dark places where it could be hiding. "Watch the ceiling." Athena warned.

"Cynder, stay back with the others until we find this thing." Spyro said.

"Okay, be careful." Cynder said, worriedly.

The trio began walking towards the center of the room. They could still hear the arachnid scuttling about, but the echoes of the cave made it impossible to locate the source of the sound. It was then that a movement caught Athena's eye, "Watch out!" She yelled as the spider launched itself at them. She was able to jump out of the way but Spyro wasn't as lucky. He tried to leap into the air but the spider still rammed him in the side and sent him flying into one of the old writing desks that shattered upon impact. Leon swung his javelin at the arachnid, but his burning shoulder affected the speed of his blow and the spider dodged it. Athena, however, was still at her full speed and she brought down one of her rapiers and penetrated the spider's carapace. The beast shrieked loudly before falling onto its side and curling its legs into a ball.

"Is it dead?" Spyro asked as he rose from the splintered desk.

"I think so." Athena stated, nudging the spider with her foot.

"What the hell, man?" Sparx yelled at Leon, "I thought that you said they wouldn't attack dragons."

"Thin one was different." Leon stated, "They aren't supposed to get that large." Leon leaned down and examined the spider's body, "It's definitely not natural...It looks like it's been mutated by the crystals." Leon then cringed as another stab of pain hit him from the wound on his shoulder.

"Here, let me fix that." Zephyr said, approaching the human. Leon allowed her to place her paw over the wound, which now had a slightly purplish tint to it, but when she attempted to heal the muscle and flesh, she found that her magic was futile. "Uh oh…it's not working."

"Damn…it must have mutated the venom glands too." Leon sighed, "I didn't bring any bandages either."

"What should we do?" Cynder asked.

Leon rose to his feet, "We move on…see what plants we can find along the way."

"Are you sure you can make it?" Athena asked.

"Of course." Leon stated, "The cold should keep the chance of infection down, and the venom can't affect me…however, if we run into anymore of those things, you dragons will need to stay back…save for Spyro."

"You mean there's more?" Zephyr asked.

"It's possible."

"We'll be careful." Spyro assured the earth dragoness, "Come on, let's get moving."

"Hold on." Leon said, looking at the books on the floor that fell from the desk that Spyro had crashed into. He knelt down and picked up one of the dusty history volumes, "Do you think that Volteer might be interested in these."

Spyro did not have to think about that question, "Definitely...are you taking them with us?"

"Well they're not doing any good down here." Leon said as he gathered a few of the books that had yet to be ruined by age. As he picked up one of the volumes he noticed a small tattered piece of paper.

"What's that?" Cynder asked, looking over her father's shoulder.

Leon picked up the paper and looked at the worn, faded words written on it, "Hmm…that's strange." He said, aloud to himself.

"What does it say?" Athena asked.

"It just says, 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.'"

"What does it mean?" Cynder asked.

"Hell if I know." Leon stashed the note in his satchel, along with the rest of the books, "We'll figure it out later." He then hefted the satchel onto his back with his good arm before standing up, turning, and leading the vanguards out of the room, leaving the body of the mutated spider behind them. The vanguards then made their way down the hall and back to the main chamber of the tower. Leon avoided looking at the mass grave of his people and stopped at the round stone door. He grasped the stone with his good arm and attempted to move the stone. It proved to be too difficult with only one fully functioning arm, so Athena stepped in to help him. With a grunt, they began to move the stone and revealed the passage beyond. A cold winter wind rushed through the tunnel from the outside and Flare coughed violently.

"You alright?" Cynder asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Flare said.

"The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get back to Warfang and sit in front of a warm fire." Leon stated. The vanguards nodded before heading into the darkness of the cave.

**Song: Dance, Dance**

**Artist: Fall Out Boy**

**Song: Bring Me To Life**

**Artist: Evanescence**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The tunnel continued on for a few miles before making a sharp incline. The vanguards kept their eyes on the walls and ceiling in case any more of the mutated cave spiders decided to ambush them. "It's g-getting colder." Twitch shivered.

"Y-yeah…we're getting c-closer to the exit." Leon said.

"There's a heat b-barrier separating the t-tall plains from the mountains, after we p-pass that it should get a lot w-warmer." Spyro stated.

"I d-don't I've ever been so c-cold in my life." Athena said, as she rubbed her hands together, hoping the friction would warm her up.

"Here," Leon put his arm around her and held her close so they could share their body heat, "b-better?"

"A little…at l-least I feel safer." She replied, giving him a smile.

"So d-do I." Leon said, smiling back. The male dragons of the group followed suit and draped their wings over their mates.

Flare made a move to wrap his wing over Crystal, but the ice dragoness said, "It's a nice thought, but I think that you're the one who could use the warmth."

"Oh, r-right." Flare said as Crystal wrapped her wing around him.

"Hey n-now…hold on a s-second." Sparx said, stopping the vanguards. The dragonfly flew towards Cynder and laid on her back and covered himself with Spyro's wing, "Okay, we're good." He said, relaxing. Spyro and Cynder shook their heads while the rest of the vanguards chuckled. They then continued up the tunnel until they were finally able to see a bright light. They emerged from the darkness onto a rocky mountaintop, where the sight of a series of large floating islands greeted them. Below them, a thick sheet of fog that stretched on for miles shrouded the foot of the mountains and the shadowlands beyond. The downdraft that had kept them from flying up the mountains still whirled around them, making the cold much worse.

"It's about t-time." Charlotte said, "I thought we w-would never get out of t-that spider-infested hell-hole."

"Hey…easy." Fang hissed.

"Oh," Charlotte then realized what she had said and she looked at Leon, "n-no offense…"

"It's f-fine." Leon said, "It's d-definitely not as p-pretty as it was so long ago."

"We really d-do appreciate the f-fact that you allowed us t-to see it." Spyro said.

"Don't m-mention it." Leon said, "And b-by that I mean, d-don't mention it to anyone…no one else c-can know of its location."

"Do you s-still not t-trust the dragons." Cynder asked.

"…I d-don't trust one d-dragon in particular." Leon said before looking at Fang, "Sorry…but I'm n-not going to p-put it past your father to d-desecrate my families tomb."

"I d-don't like it…but I c-can't disagree with you." Fang stated. "Don't worry, my l-lips are sealed."

The rest of the dragons nodded, "Thanks." Leon said, "Now…f-from here…I'm afraid I have n-no knowledge of where we're g-going."

"I t-think it's this way." Spyro said, indicating with his head towards the west. The vanguard nodded before following the purple dragon across the top of the mountain.

Two orcs escorted a mole from the Munitions Forge up Malefore's dark crystal spire, to the topmost chamber. The large purple dragon eyed the fearful mole as he entered, "I trust you have good news for me." Malefore said, maliciously.

"Um…y-yes sir…the automatons are a-almost fully functional." The mole stuttered.

"Almost?" Malefore said, narrowing his eyes.

"Y-yes sir…they should b-be done within the week."

Malefore let a puff of smoke escape from his maw, causing the mole to shirk back, "And what about the transport?"

"We need a f-few more d-days at the least."

"Hmm…do you have a family, mole?" Malefore asked. The mole stayed silent for a moment, "Well!" Malefore yelled, slamming his paw into the ground.

"Y-yes sir." The mole stuttered.

"Well if you want to keep it that way, you will tell your leader to pick up the pace…I want your work done within the next fortnight."

"B-but-"

"Get him out of my sight." Malefore ordered. The two orcs obliged and shoved the mole out of the room. "The moles are almost as useless as the orcs," Malefore thought to himself, "almost."

With one last heave Gorrak hefted himself onto the top of the mountain with his legion of apes close behind. They had lost a number of his men to the mountains as the rocks tended to be unstable and easily sent unwary travelers to their deaths. Gorrak knew, however, that the orcs would have it much worse, as they didn't have thick coats of fur to shield them from the biting cold. "It's about time." One ape said as he reached his arms into the sky in a stretch.

"Yeah, I thought we would see the heavens themselves before we actually reached the top." Another ape said.

"Shh." Gorrak hissed, "get down, now." Gorrak and his apes dropped almost simultaneously into a prone position. Gorrak listened hard and he could hear the faint voices not too far away. He motioned for his troops to follow him and they slowly crawled towards a small rock formation. Gorrak turned to his troops and told them to stay down. He peeked over the rocks and saw a group of dragons, a cheetah, and the creature that both Malefore and Gwar had spoken to him about. "How the hell did they get up here so fast?" The ape asked himself.

"H-here it is." Spyro stated as they reached a rather long and rickety rope bridge.

"Wait…_that's _the b-bridge?" Twitch asked.

"What d-did you expect?" Spyro asked.

"Well, at l-least something doesn't look like it'll c-collapse at any m-moment."

"We'll b-be careful." Spyro then turned to Sparx who still lay on Cynder's back, "Sparx, your s-small enough that the winds c-can't affect you too b-badly…scout ahead and make sure we d-don't run into any surprises."

"Oh right," Sparx said, sarcastically, "send m-me over their f-first as cannon f-fodder."

"At least you f-finally get t-to do something useful." Cynder said.

"…That's a l-low blow." Sparx stated, "F-fine…and_ then_ m-maybe I'll stay with the Atlawa…I _did, _after all, save them f-from the apes."

"No…p-please…what would we d-do without you?" Fang said in a sarcastic tone. The vanguards laughed at the black dragon's remark.

"Alright, we'll s-see." Sparx said before flying towards the floating islands.

"What's an A-Atlawa?" Leon asked.

"You mean you d-don't know?" Cynder asked, surprised.

"They're a tribe that populates the tall plains." Crystal said.

"Cyril isn't to f-fond of them, though." Spyro stated, "He thinks that their s-savages."

"Are t-they?" Leon asked.

"No…they j-just aren't as advanced as the d-dragons and they h-have their own religion."

"I s-see."

"C-can we go now," Flare whined, "I'm freezing my t-tail off."

"Yeah, l-let's hurry." Spyro said. The vanguards started to cross the bridge being careful to spread their weight evenly on the planks. Step by step they slowly made their way across the long bridge. The boards creaked under them and as if warning them not to take the next step. They never stopped to looked behind them to see the legion of apes that now stood at start of the bridge.

"We can make quick work of them." An ape said as he raised his blade over his head and aimed his swing at the rope that suspended the bridge.

"Hold." Gorrak said.

"Why?" The ape asked, "We have the perfect opportunity to-" The ape did not have a chance to finish his sentence. In one smooth motion Gorrak unsheathed his dragon tooth blade and lopped off the ape's head. A gush of blood covered several of the surrounding apes and they watched in horror as the headless body of their companion fall off the mountain and disappeared in the mist below.

"How many times must I say it?" Gorrak asked, "Do _not_ question me." He looked at his legion and he could easily see the fear in their faces, "We need that purple dragon, _alive…_They have to come back through her, so let's set up camp and wait for them…perhaps Gwar and his sorry excuse for warriors will catch up by then...but I won't hold my breath."

The vanguards continued to walk across the bridge, shivering with each step as the cold cut through their bodies like the sharpest steel. Flare's coughing grew worse and worse as it became colder and colder. Then, about two-thirds across the bridge, it suddenly became much warmer, as if this part of the world was stuck in permanent spring weather. "Oh wow." Zephyr gasped.

"Thank the ancestors." Flare said.

"Well…I'm glad that it's not cold anymore," Leon began, "but now I'm afraid I'm going to get an infection." His wound had clotted but still remained at the mercy of the elements.

"I'm sure we can find something to help on the way." Spyro said.

"Then let's hurry." Leon stated. The vanguards continued across the bridge and they saw Sparx waiting for them on the other side.

"Hey, pick up the pace!" The dragonfly called.

"Find any unwanted company?" Spyro asked

"Nope, just tall grass and rocks." Sparx replied.

"They must be deeper in the plains." Leon stated.

"Let's keep going." Spyro said. The vanguards nodded before heading into the bronze colored grass. The grass had grown much taller since Spyro's visit almost four years ago. The dragons found navigating the grass to be difficult, as only Leon and Athena were tall enough to see over the blades, and even they had to stand on their toes to get a good view.

Sparx took the initiative to fly above the grass and scout the path ahead, "There's a clearing straight ahead with a bunch of boulders."

"Alright, now we're getting somewhere." Spyro stated. The vanguards emerged from the grass into the clearing where they found stacks of stones about the size of a healthy cheetah warrior.

"Huh, that's weird." Sparx said, "Was someone doing something with these?"

"Do you think they're markers?" Cynder asked as she closely examined one of the rock piles.

"Who cares, it's a great place to rest." Twitch said as he lay near one of the rock piles.

"I need a break, too." Leon said. He wasn't tired but his wound was causing him a severe amount of pain.

He sat on the ground and Athena sat beside him and rested her back against one of the rock piles. It was then that the sound of grinding stone caught their attention. Athena jumped when she felt the rocks shift behind her back. The vanguards watched as the rocks rolled over each other and formed arms and heads with red, glowing eyes.

"Oh crap!" Twitch exclaimed as the one of the stone brutes raised a massive arm over its head. Twitch leaped backwards to avoid being crushed but as soon as the Brute's massive fist landed, a pillar of stone sent the young lightning dragon into the air. Twitch regained his balance in mid-air before firing a lightning bolt that blew off the Brute's arm, sending small rock shards in all directions.

Athena rolled forward as the brute that she had been resting against swung at her. The other vanguards also backed away from the brutes and huddled together in a defensive circle. The brutes began sliding towards them, ripping up the grass as they moved. Zephyr fired an earth bullet that smashed against one of the brutes' chest and cracked it into pieces. The rest of the brute fell into a pile of rubble and it's red eyes faded away. "They're big, but not indestructible." The earth dragoness stated.

Spyro ducked as another arm whizzed over his head before using his lightning breath to blast the brute's head off. Twitch eyed his one-armed opponent as it stalked closer. The lightning dragon fired another lighting bolt, but the brute dodged to the side with surprising speed for a creature of its size. The brute then charged the lightning dragon, but Twitch leapt over the attack with a mighty flap of his wings. He then turned and fired another lightning bolt that crashed against the brutes back, leaving a massive crater and taking down the brute.

Crystal fired flurries of ice spikes at the brutes, but only succeeded in chipping off small pebbles as the spikes shattered against their stone bodies. Cynder took notice and stood in front of the ice dragoness before letting out a concentrated blast of sonic energy. The brutes began cracking and fell into chunks on the ground.

Flare used his fire breath on the remaining brutes, heating them up and melting their bodies. Leon then used his dark lightning to finish off the weakened brutes.

"Thank the ancestors _that's_ over." Twitch breathed.

"I had forgotten how dangerous this place was." Spyro said.

"Uh guys?" Sparx said, pointing.

The vanguards turned to see that the grass had caught fire, and the inferno was spreading rapidly. "No problem." Fang said, leaping into the air.

"Wait, don't…" Leon began, but Fang was too distracted. The black dragon sent a wave of wind across the plain, but only succeeded in strengthening the blaze.

"Oops…" Fang said once he realized what he had done.

"This way." Athena said. The vanguards dashed through the tall grass and ran towards an unknown destination. Eventually, they reached the edge of the grass and ran into a wooded area.

They stopped by a tall tree to catch their breath, "Do you…do you think it'll stop by itself?" Zephyr asked.

"I certainly hope so." Cynder said.

"Come on, let's..." Spyro began, but he was cut short by a rustle in the bushes.

"What's that?" Crystal asked, becoming nervous.

Another rustle caused the vanguards to take defensive positions, "It's getting closer." Charlotte stated.


End file.
